Nebraska Broadcasters Association to Provide New Broadcast Journalism Equipment for University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Students studying broadcast journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will soon use state-of-the-art equipment to help advance their future careers thanks to a gift commitment from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

The NBA recently announced it will provide $100,000 over the next five years to the University of Nebraska Foundation to establish an equipment fund for UNL's broadcasting program at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The college will use the fund for equipment acquisition and maintenance.

Jim O'Hanlon, interim dean of the college, said students and faculty greatly appreciate NBA's generous support. "This gift will considerably update the learning opportunities our students will experience and prepare them well for today's world of work," he said. "We are all excited about what this means for the college. We want to thank the broadcasters of the state for their support, as this equipment will greatly benefit our students."

Jerry Renaud, journalism professor and journalism sequence head, said, "I hope the broadcasters understand how important this gift is to the college. It will dramatically upgrade both the radio and television operations at the college and give students a chance to work with the latest technology. We can't thank the association enough for giving students the opportunity to improve the quality of their education and have a better chance at employment upon graduation."

According to Renaud, the college will stretch the benefits of the donation as much as possible, but a large portion of the gift will go toward a much-needed digital switcher for the college's television studio. Other portions will be used for camera equipment and an audio board. Some of the equipment being replaced uses dated analog technology and is between 23 and 37 years old, Renaud said, and will be replaced with modern digital equipment.

Nebraska Broadcasters Association president Marty Riemenschneider was thrilled to announce the gift for the college.

"The relationship between the J School and the NBA has been getting stronger in recent years," Riemenschneider said. "We wanted to demonstrate our continuing support in this manner and to assist the broadcasting sequence in providing students with the best technology to prepare them for a career in broadcasting."

Over the years, NBA has also provided a student scholarship program for broadcasting students at UNL. Its new fund for equipment further solidifies NBA's commitment to providing tools to best educate today's broadcasting students, Riemenschneider said.

The Nebraska Broadcasters Association was formed in 1934 to advance the best interests of the free, local, over-the-air, full-service radio (and later television) broadcast industry in Nebraska. For more information, visit ne-ba.org.

The gifts from NBA also support the University of Nebraska's current fundraising initiative, the Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities, and its priority to increase support for students, faculty and academic programs. The University of Nebraska Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization raising private gifts to support the University of Nebraska for more than 75 years. In 2012 donors, through their gifts to the foundation, provided the university with $165 million for scholarships, medical and other research, academic programs, faculty and buildings. All foundation funds are donor designated. The foundation's comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Nebraska, has raised more than $1.2 billion for the university, and concludes in 2014. For more information, visit campaignfornebraska.org.